Alberta court staff goes back to work; leave most correctional officers still on picket line

Clara Ho, Calgary Herald04.30.2013

Just before 3 pm, striking AUPE workers collapsed their picket line outside the Calgary Courts Centre on April 30, 2013. The striking workers had been ordered back to work. The collapse of the picket line came after supervisors delivered another copy of the order to picketers and posted a copy on the window of the Calgary Courts Centre.Colleen De Neve
/ Calgary Herald

AUPE Vice-President Carrie-Lynn Rusznak walked away from the line as just before 3 pm, striking AUPE workers collapsed their picket line outside the Calgary Courts Centre on April 30, 2013. The striking workers had been ordered back to work. The collapse of the picket line came after supervisors delivered another copy of the order to picketers and posted a copy on the window of the Calgary Courts Centre.Colleen De Neve
/ Calgary Herald

Members of the AUPE including Sheriffs remained on the picket line outside the Calgary Courts Centre on April 30, 2013 after being ordered back to work Monday night.Colleen De Neve
/ Calgary Herald

Members of the AUPE including Sheriffs remained on the picket line outside the Calgary Courts Centre on April 30, 2013 after being ordered back to work Monday night.Colleen De Neve
/ Calgary Herald

Just before 3 pm, striking AUPE workers collapsed their picket line outside the Calgary Courts Centre on April 30, 2013. The striking workers had been ordered back to work. The collapse of the picket line came after supervisors delivered another copy of the order to picketers and posted a copy on the window of the Calgary Courts Centre.Colleen De Neve
/ Calgary Herald

Members of the AUPE including Sheriffs remained on the picket line outside the Calgary Courts Centre on April 30, 2013 after being ordered back to work Monday night.Colleen De Neve
/ Calgary Herald

A supervisor handed striking AUPE sheriffs a copy of the back to work order as striking AUPE workers continued to picket outside the Calgary Courts Centre on April 30, 2013 after the noon fine deadline came and went. A court of Queens Bench judge ordered the union members back to work and imposed a fine if they failed to do so.Colleen De Neve
/ Calgary Herald

The province of Alberta says more people have crossed the picket on the fifth day of a wildcat strike that’s costing taxpayers more than $1 million a day.

All court staff are back on the job in Calgary and Edmonton, with six still picketing in Peace River, deputy solicitor general Tim Grant told reporters Tuesday afternoon in a news conference.

About half of probation officers in Calgary and Edmonton have returned to their post. All court sheriffs in Calgary have reported back to work, with sheriffs in Edmonton expected to do the same by the end of Tuesday.

Grant said he’s “encouraged” that staff are going back to work.

But only 42 of about 400 correctional workers are back on the job across the province, and he is encouraging the rest to “do the right thing.”

“The longer the strike lasts, the less impact it has on court and jail operations,” he said. “As the police and managers become more familiarized with jails and courts, the duties they’re fulfilling, those routines get closer to normal.

“Having said that, there’s no doubt in our minds we do want correctional workers back on the job. They do have tough jobs and we understand that.”

Grant said many correctional staff have called in sick, signalling to him that they are too scared to cross the picket line.

The public service commissioner continues to engage in conversations with union officials, though government legal adviser Dwayne Chomyn assured no negotiations are proceeding during the illegal strike.

The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees sent out a statement shortly after the province’s news conference.

“Thank you for your continued interest in the wildcat strikes. We understand the significance of this story,” the union said.

“However, we are currently in talks with the province to resolve the situation and are respecting that process. Therefore, we will not be commenting to media at this time. We will update media upon new developments.”

As picketers continued to flout court orders ordering them to stop striking, the province is considering making applications for civil contempt or criminal contempt for the breach of the court’s directives.

A $100,000 court-ordered fine handed late Monday to the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees grew to $350,000 after they ignored a deadline to stop striking at noon Tuesday and maintained picket lines across the province.

Late Monday, the Alberta Labour Relations Board ordered all public service employees back to work after a judge found the union in contempt of court for a strike that began Friday and rapidly grew to include more people.

A fine of $100,000 was handed down, which grew to $350,000 after noon Tuesday, and will jump by $500,000 if the labour disruption doesn’t end by noon Wednesday.

It will increase by another $500,000 every additional day the strike continues.

In addition to the fine, the judge also ordered the union to take down any videos or messages from its website expressing support for the strike, and banned AUPE leaders from publishing anything — including on social media — that would encourage the continuation of the strike.

The labour board decision late Monday expanded a weekend ruling ordering an end to a wildcat strike joined earlier Monday by Alberta sheriffs, probation officers and court staff, after corrections officers walked off the job Friday.

The ruling gives the province the ability to fine public service employees who disobey.

The strike was triggered by two employees who were reprimanded and suspended with pay after they voiced health and safety concerns with the new $580-million Edmonton Remand Centre.

Their Edmonton colleagues walked off the job Friday, followed by their counterparts at all 10 provincial correctional facilities, including in Calgary.

RCMP officers took on the role of temporary prison guards, while police officers filled in for sheriffs at the courthouse.

The strike is costing taxpayers about $1.2 million a day, the province said.

Lukaszuk said the Edmonton Remand Centre was inspected multiple times and received a clean bill of health. He added the AUPE had signed off on all hazard assessments, an assertion the AUPE contested.

Lukaszuk says the province is in the middle of contract negotiations with the union. Smith says those negotiations have nothing to do with this strike.

The province is scheduled to provide an update on Tuesday afternoon.

— With files from Jason van Rassel, Calgary Herald and the Edmonton Journal

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Share

Alberta court staff goes back to work; leave most correctional officers still on picket line

Video

Today's National News

Best of Postmedia

'People suffer out here and they keep going and that never gets easier to watch,' says nurse Margaux Pontoreau-Bazinet, who decamps to where she's needed most on the streets, operating out of a knapsack stuffed with medical equipment

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.